Hi,
I've been SUP surfing in the uk for about 6 months once or twice a week, variety of beach breaks from knee to head high and generally quite slack.
i currently weight 72kg, 5'10and im quite a competent surfer looking for a more lively board than my 9' hypernut 145 litres.
My question is if I went down to a 7'8 hypernut (or something different but smaller) would it be a much harder to catch waves earlyish as this is one of the best things about SUP for me :-).
many thanks for any advise,
Ben

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bluerocket said..
Hi,
I've been SUP surfing in the uk for about 6 months once or twice a week, variety of beach breaks from knee to head high and generally quite slack.
i currently weight 72kg, 5'10and im quite a competent surfer looking for a more lively board than my 9' hypernut 145 litres.
My question is if I went down to a 7'8 hypernut (or something different but smaller) would it be a much harder to catch waves earlyish as this is one of the best things about SUP for me :-).
many thanks for any advise,
Ben

Unfortunately, the shorter you go, the slower you paddle, and the harder it is to get on to the wave...

The challenge is to find a happy medium. That's why I like a slightly longer, narrower, thinner board. Pointy nose, low(ish) liters, lighter, nicer tail, and good for punching through waves on the way back out.

I have not surfed a hypernut though. Can you demo a 7'8? Can you demo something in-between those two sizes?

at 72 kg, the 9' Hypernut (HN) is a huge board for you. i'm 6'3", 92 kg and use the 8' HN. It is stable as a dock and surfs very well, IMO. I've been on the 7'8". it is considerably less stable than the 8', to the point I felt I expended too much energy trying to balance on it. My buddy who owns the 7'8" is about 82 kg, and he seems good on it, but less comfortable than i am on the 8'. at your weight and height, the 7'8" might be fine, but going to an 8' may be a better overall transition, especially if you're worried about early takeoffs. will be easier on the 8'.

I've gone down from an 8'10 Speeed to a 7'6 Shroom.
Its much more "involving" catching waves on smaller length boards.
You have to paddle quicker and for longer, and be more effective with your feet to release the board.
Is it enjoyable?
Of course it is
Would I recommend it to others? Yes and No.
You can tell a short board rider by thier limp and lack of coherent speech, so it's easy to teach short board riding to these guys because (like me) we don't think too hard at catching waves, we just paddle like loonies to catch em' then cut them up so no one else can use the wave

Basically (IME) you just have to work hard at balance and technical prowess, but that's half the fun isn't it..

Enjoy, do it.

Great advise thank you everyone, the idea of a lower volume/ more performance but similar length is an interesting idea as I believe a lot of the paddle speed of a board is directly related to the length and rocker? I live on a small island off the coast of the uk so testing boards is very limited unfortunately.

I've just picked up a Jimmy Lewis super frank 8.0 wide 128L, I'm 90kg and an intermediate supper.
Superb board with a short board feel and unrivalled construction.
Stable and surprisingly good paddler, no issues at all picking up waves.
You won't go wrong ... you could step onto a lean with lower volume without issue.
I didn't demo just took a risk and don't regret this one ..... very pleased.

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SunnyBouy said..
You have to paddle quicker and for longer, and be more effective with your feet to release the board.

You shouldn't paddle longer on take off with short boards: all is in the placement and the timing of the few paddle strokes, and being in a fence stance. If you have to paddle a long time, it means you have botched your takeoff and are in emergency remediation mode :-) .

Short boards are tricky to paddle for more than 2 paddle strokes on takeoff, because the nose lift a lot more than longer boards on paddling: the short board "climbs" on its front wake and stalls. If you are putting more than 2 paddle strokes, be ready to push hard on the nose to keep it low.

But as you say the take off is more satisfying than on longer boards, because you get this "popping up" feeling of a shortboard takeoff while still having much more speed and early entry than a prone shortboard.

I'm still learning on the 7'6, I've a long way to go to catch up with you guys